Mesh Etiquette

Meshtastic® Do’s & Don’ts

Meshtastic LoRa networks rely on community cooperation to stay efficient and welcoming. Users follow technical best practices and a code of conduct to prevent congestion, spam, and conflicts.[meshtastic]​

Network Etiquette

Keep node roles to CLIENT, CLIENT_MUTE, or CLIENT_BASE to avoid collisions and ensure stable relaying. Set max hops to 3 unless needed for edges, as high limits cause flooding. Use LongFast preset for public meshes but switch to MediumFast or ShortFast in dense areas to cut congestion.meshtastic+1

Privacy Practices

Disable GPS sharing on public channels to protect your location, and use private channels with custom keys for sensitive chats. Avoid default weak encryption; generate and share unique keys only with trusted contacts.[iffybooks]​

Communication Norms

Be kind, respectful, and empathetic in messages; avoid spam like frequent position broadcasts or range tests on public channels. Test in private channels, join local groups via Discord or Telegram for coordination, and accept feedback gracefully. Do not harass, dox, or overload the network, as violations lead to warnings or bans. meshtastic+3[youtube]​

Here are the full key points of the Meshtastic Code of Conduct in plain language, organized by section.[meshtastic]​

Our Pledge

• The community pledges to provide a harassment‑free experience for everyone regardless of age, body size, disability (visible or invisible), ethnicity, sex characteristics, gender identity or expression, experience level, education, socio‑economic status, nationality, appearance, race, caste, color, religion, or sexual identity/orientation.[meshtastic]​
• Members commit to acting in ways that keep the community open, welcoming, diverse, inclusive, and healthy.[meshtastic]​

Our Standards

Positive behaviors include:[meshtastic]​

• Showing empathy and kindness toward others.
• Respecting different opinions, viewpoints, and experiences.
• Giving and accepting constructive feedback gracefully.
• Taking responsibility for mistakes, apologizing, and learning from them.
• Prioritizing what is best for the overall community, not just oneself.

Unacceptable behaviors include:[meshtastic]​

• Sexualized language or imagery, sexual attention, or advances of any kind.
• Trolling, insults, derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks.
• Public or private harassment.
• Publishing or collecting others’ private information (like physical or email addresses) without explicit permission.
• Using services in ways that could cause denial of service, including overloading the network or servers and disrupting availability.
• Any other conduct reasonably considered inappropriate in a professional setting.

Enforcement Responsibilities

• Community leaders clarify and enforce standards, taking appropriate and fair corrective action for behavior they deem inappropriate, threatening, offensive, or harmful.[meshtastic]​
• They may remove, edit, or reject comments, code, wiki edits, issues, and other contributions that do not align with the Code and will explain moderation decisions when appropriate.[meshtastic]​

Scope

• The Code applies in all community spaces (e.g., Discord, forums, GitHub) and when someone is officially representing the community in public.[meshtastic]​
• Representation includes using official email, posting via official social accounts, or acting as an appointed representative at events (online or offline).[meshtastic]​

Enforcement

• Incidents of abusive, harassing, or otherwise unacceptable behavior can be reported to community leaders using the methods they specify (e.g., private message to an admin on Discord, email).[meshtastic]​
• All complaints are reviewed and investigated promptly and fairly, and leaders must respect the privacy and security of the reporter.[meshtastic]​

Enforcement Guidelines

The Code defines four escalating levels of response, based on community impact:[meshtastic]​

1. Correction
   • Impact: Inappropriate language or behavior considered unprofessional or unwelcome.
   • Consequence: Private written warning explaining the violation and why it is inappropriate; a public apology may be requested.[meshtastic]​
2. Warning
   • Impact: A violation through a single incident or series of actions.
   • Consequence: Formal warning plus restrictions on interaction with involved parties and possibly with enforcers, for a specified time; violating these terms can lead to temporary or permanent ban.[meshtastic]​
3. Temporary Ban
   • Impact: Serious violation, including sustained inappropriate behavior.
   • Consequence: Temporary ban from any public communication or interaction with the community; no public or private interaction with those involved or enforcers during the ban, with further violation potentially leading to permanent ban.[meshtastic]​
4. Permanent Ban
   • Impact: Pattern of violating standards, sustained inappropriate behavior, harassment of an individual, or aggression toward/disparagement of protected classes.[meshtastic]​
   • Consequence: Permanent ban from any public interaction in the community.[meshtastic]​

Attribution

• The Meshtastic Code of Conduct is adapted from the Contributor Covenant v2.1, and its enforcement ladder is inspired by Mozilla’s code of conduct enforcement guidelines.[meshtastic]​

If you want, I can next help you translate these points into a short “field guide” for everyday behavior on public Meshtastic channels (e.g., what to do on Discord vs. on-air messages).